Posts Tagged ‘nakhon si thammarat’

Krua Nakhon, a popular restaurant in Nakhon Si Thammarat recently metamorphosed into วังเดิม – Wang Derm Restaurant – at a new location. It still has the same signature dishes as before while offering an expanded menu. The food remains fresh, appetizing, absolutely delicious and highly recommended. Thankfully, most of the friendly staff are still there.

Sign for Wang Derm Restaurant

Krua Nakhon was situated in the heart of town; Wang Derm (which could also be transliterated as Wang Deum or Wang Doem) is located next to the Provincial Court. As the sign (to the left) says, under the name, it serves อาหารไทย อาหารปักษ์ใฅ้ – Thai Food and Southern Food (ahaan Thai and ahaan pak tai).

(Click images to see larger version.)

Two of my favorite dishes from Krua Nakhon, the southern specialties of kanom jeen noodles and khao yam salad are still available in addition to a wider variety of other dishes.

Kanom Jeen Noodles

The photograph to the right shows Kanom Jeen Nam Ya – ขนมจีนน้ำยา – a popular southern Thai dish. Kasma translates it into English as “Southern-Style Rice Vermicelli Topped with Spicy Fish Nam Ya Curry Sauce.” Kanom jeen are a fermented rice noodle and are found all over Thailand; they are possibly the one noodle in Thailand that is not Chinese in origin. (They probably originated with the Mon ethnic group.) This particular dish is a southern variation. The nam ya curry sauce is made with flaked fish and is often very, very spicy. The only place I’ve ever come across this in the United states is at Kasma’s Advanced Set E cooking class.

Rice Salad - ข้าวยำ

The left photograph shows “Southern Thai Rice Salad” – (ข้าวยำ) (Khao Yam) – a composed rice salad. The ingredients can vary depending on what is in season and what is fresh and available. To eat, you mix everything up together and enjoy. It is a particularly southern Thai dish, though there are apparently variations in Malaysia. Kasma also teaches this in her Advanced Set E cooking class as Southern-style Rice Salad.

One of the friendly employees

Inside Wang Derm

I recognize most of the staff from Krua Nakhon, including this smiling woman. Also brought over were the decorative antique coconut graters seen here in the background. The interior remains open and bright, although open on 2 sides rather than 3 as at Krua Nakhon.

Counter & menu

A second counter

Here are two of the counter areas where food is served.

Fish dish

Bitter Melon with Egg

The food in the restaurant is all pre-cooked. You can either order from the menu (if you read Thai) or you can just go up to the counter where the food is displayed and point out what you’d like. The dish to the left is a fried fish topped with fish sauce, shallots, and chillies; you can eat virtually the entire fish except for the spine – most of the bones are fried up and edible. To the right is one of my personal favorites – Bitter Melon Stir-fried with Egg – มะระผัดไข่ (Mara Pad Kai). (Check out Kasma’s Recipe for Bitter Melon with Egg.)

Vegetable platter

Fish Curry

In southern Thailand, expect to get a plate of fresh vegetables, such as the one to the left, with your meal. In addition to the more usual long beans, cucumbers and Thai eggplants, you’ll often find various leaves: I believe the leaves to the left of the picture are cashew leaves. The dish to the right is Sour Curry – แกงส้ม (Kaeng Som). In other parts of the country, the southern version of Sour Curry is often called Yellow Curry – แกงเหลือง (Kaeng Leuang) – to distinguish it from the northern version of Sour Curry – they are quite different. There’s a good Bangkok Post Article: “Kaeng Som” A Thai Culinary Classic by Suthon Sukphisit.

Crispy fried fish

Thai dessert

The dish on the left is a red-curry based crispy fried fish. To the right is one of the many desserts available at Wang Derm; this one is served in sweet coconut sauce. Be warned though, they do run out of the desserts so you might want to select one early on. The yellow bits on the dumpling in the center are fried mung beans.

Wang Derm parking lot

Another outside view

Here are two views from the outside of Wang Derm to help you find the restaurant. If you’re in Nakhon Si Thammarat, give it a try for breakfast or lunch for delicious, fresh southern-style Thai food.

Wat That Noi (วัดธาตุน้อย) is a temple found in the south of Thailand in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. It was the residence of Portan Klai (1876-1970), said to be one of the most famous guru monks of his generation. The temple includes a wax-reproduction of him as well as his mortal remains. (See Portan Klai (1876-1970) of Wat That Noi was one of the most famous guru monks in Nakhon Si Thammarat (NST) one generation ago. (See Wayne’s Dhamma Blog.)

Recining Buddha at Wat That Noi

The most famous temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat is, of course, Wat Mahatat, found in the town itself. Kasma and I visited Wat That Noi on a recent visit and it is worth a stop. It is found to the west of the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat on Highway 4015. Here’s a map of its location and more photos. One of its more prominent features is the large reclining Buddha shown to the left.

(Click image to see larger version.)

At Thai temples I love to wander around and look at the details, from the nagas on the staircases to the bas-relief of the walls. I’m including a slide show of some of the interesting features I found at this slightly off-the-beaten-track temple.

Wat That Noi Slideshow

Click on “Play” below to begin a slideshow.
Clicking on a slide will take you to the next image.

Dim Sum, in Thailand? On a recent trip to Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south of Thailand, we found a restaurant that serves delicious dim sum (though by a different name — see below). Like many southern Thai cities, Nakhon si Thammarat has a large Chinese (Chinese-Thai, more accurately) population. Dim Sum is widely available in another southern city, Trang. This was the first time we’ve found it in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

One of the ‘dim sum’

The name of the restaurant is ตังเกี๋ย เเต่่เตี้ยม – Tang Gia Taa Tiam. The last two words, เเต่่เตี้ยม – Taa Tiam (phonetically, it is closer to Dtaa Dtiam) – are what the Hokien Chinese call these types of little dishes, rather than dim sum. The Hokien Chinese are from southern China; in Thai they are called Fujian. I will continue to use “dim sum” since that is what most westerners will relate to.

(Click images to see larger version.)

Here's the restaurant

Look for this sign

Menu, with Pictures

It was our Thai driver, Sun, who told us about the restaurant. He is from Nakhon Si Thammarat and hears about new things. My Thai is not good enough to tell you exactly where the restaurant is. I do know that it’s in a newer district of town called Meuang Tawng – meuang meaning city and tawng meaning gold. I’ve included on our website proper a jpeg file that includes the restaurant sign and name, also suitable for printing.

The menu is pretty extensive here: there are nearly 100 items. They are particularly known for their pork soup, so we recommend you definitely try that one. Otherwise, just look at the pictures, see what looks good and give it a try.

I’ve included a slide show of most of the items we’ve eaten there over our visits.

Taa Tiam (Dim Sum) Slideshow

Click on “Play” below to begin a slideshow.
Clicking on a slide will take you to the next image.

Thailand is predominantly a Buddhist country and throughout the country there are numerous temples – wat, in Thai. One of my favorite temples is Wat Mahatat in Nakhon Si Thammarat. This temple is considered one of the three most important temples in the south of Thailand, the others being in Chaiya and Yala. A morning visit here is part the itinerary for Kasma’s Kasma’s trips to southern Thailand.

View of chedi

Its full name is Wat Phra Mahatat Woramahawihaan, sometimes abbreviated to Wat Phra Boromathat. It is found a couple kilometers from the town center on Thanon Ratchadamnoen, the long street that runs the length of the town, and is easily reached by songthaew.

This is the biggest temple in the south of Thailand. The most recognizable feature is the nearly 80 meter high chedi (stupa), which is crowned by a spire made of solid gold and weighing several hundred kilograms. The main chedi is surrounded numerous smaller black and white chedis. To the right of the chedi there’s an entrance to a sanctuary. In the middle is a stairway leading up to a platform about half-way up the chedi; this stairway is open only some of the time. The stairway is flanked by demons, apparently guarding the way. At either end of the room there are walls with interesting bas-relief on the walls.

Buddha Statues

Off to the left as you head towards the central sanctuary is a wihaan or Buddha image sanctuary. In the shape of a square, it has Buddha images on the outside around the square; there’s also an inner walkway with more Buddha images.

After you’ve visited the temple, be sure to go to the market area at the far end of the temple – they have some interesting southern crafts and snacks.

Rather than spend more time on description, I’ve put together a slide show to show some of the beautiful images found here. Photographs were taken by both myself and Kasma.

Nakhon Si Thammarat – Wat Mahatat Slide Show

Click on “Play” below to begin a slideshow.
Clicking on a slide will take you to the next image.
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We always enjoy visiting the Southern Thailand city of Nakhon Si Thammarat and, when we visit, we always visit the Municipal Market, the talaat sod (fresh market). It’s a morning market and we make a point of getting there early for a bit of breakfast before we browse the market.

Nakhon Si Thammarat Market Sign

(Note: scroll down for a beautiful slide show of images from the market.)

This market has been in this location at least since 1992, when we began coming to Nakhon Si Thammarat. In December of last year (2010), right around the time of the King’s Birthday, the market completed a renovation and re-opened in this location after being relocated for 8 months. In addition to getting spruced up, the market became appreciably larger. Like many Thai markets, it’s an enclosed market with built-in stands for the vendors. It’s now probably as large or larger than the morning market in Krabi. (See our blog Krabi Morning Market.)

Vegetable aisle

This market is primarily a morning market and to see everything, you’ll want to get there early: certainly by 8:00 a.m. in the morning, and earlier if you can. It’s different from a separate Sunday market, which we’ll feature in a future blog. This is definitely a local market. You won’t see a lot of fahrang (the Thai word for Caucasian) here, especially inside the market where most of the wares are targeted for cooks.

Nakhon Si Thammarat has one very long street running from east to west – Ratchadamnoen Road. The municipal market is found on Thanon Pak Nakhon (I’ve also seen it spelled as “Pagnagon Road” – thanon means road) – which intersects Ratchadamnoen Road – leading away from the Train Station. If you have turned off the main road the market is on your left, about a half block past the Nakhon Garden Inn.

Thai snacks

Unlike the market at Krabi, all of the sit-down stalls with hot food are on the outside of the market and it does not have as many eating stands as at Krabi.

Once you enter the market, it’s organized by section. On the side closest to Thanon Pak Nakhan there are sweet snacks (khanom wan) and flowers. Other aisles (or parts of aisles) feature fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, prepared pastes, and so on.

The vendors here are very friendly and mostly enjoy having their pictures taken. It’s always more fun to walk through a market when you’re greeted by lots of smiles.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Click on “Play” below to begin a slideshow. You can also click on any picture individually and either scroll through the images using “Next” and “Prev” or start the slideshow at any image. Captions accompany the images. Clicking on a slide will also take you to the next image.

Wat Mahatat

Wat Mahatat Temple grounds

Here’s a picture of the main chedi (stupa) at Wat Mahatat in Nakhon si Thamarrat, in the South of Thailand. It’s one of my favorite temples in Thailand. As you head toward the chedi, to the left is an entrance to a building with a large number of Buddha statues around a courtyard – well worth a look.

The Wednesday Photo is a new picture each week highlighting something of interest in Thailand. Click on the picture to see a larger version.
Note: This will be our last Wednesday Photo post for awhile. We may start them up again sometime in the spring.